Excavatng cableway apparatus.



T. S. MILLER.

EXCAVATING CABLEWAY APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED DEC-I. I9I6.

1,262,22'Z0 Patented Apr. 9, 1918.

f 2 SHEETSSHEET 1-. I

E] nus "M'oz k MW 7141110 T. S. MILLER.

EXCAVATING CABLEWAY APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED new. 1916.

1,62,227D Patented Apr. 9, 1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- A gnuemtoz 3513 ii wtozmu THOMAS SPENCER MILLER, OF SOUTH ORANGE, NEW JERSEY.

EXCAVATING CABLEWAY APPARATUS.

7 '0 all whom it may concern:

' lie it known that. I, TrroMAs SPENCER MILLER, a citizen. of the United States, residing at South Orange, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in l lxcavating Cableway Apparatus, of which the followin is a specification.

This application relates to matter which is divisible with respect to that of my prior application, Serial No. 842,914, filed June at. 1914, which issued as Patent No. 1,189,605, dated July 41, 1916.

My invention relates to new and useful improvements in cableway apparatus and more particularly to excavating cableway apparatus employing head and tail towers or supports traveling on trackways, and contemplates improved means for propelling one of the towers or supports along its trackway when it is desired to shift the cableway laterally.

l have shown the inventionas applied to an excavating cableway for operating an pen-ended drag bucket but I desire it understood that the invention is not limited to that type of cableway or bucket, but is capable of wide application in cableway practice wherein towers are employed traveling upon trackways and adapted to be shifted along said trackways to vary the position of the cableway. 7

To the above ends the invention consists in the improven'ients to be more fully described hereinafte and the novelty of which will be particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed. o

1 have fully and clearly illustrated a preferred embodiment of my invention in the accompanying drawings to be taken as a part of this specification, and wherein:

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of, a cableway apparatus embodying my present invention.

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic viewof the ap- PilltllI-US shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of a drum engine for operating the traversing lines for the carriage and the hoisting and digging lines for the bucket.

Fig. l is a plan view of an engine for ex erting a di ging pull on the digging line to drag the bucket through the material being excavated.

Fig. 5 is a detail view of a tower-shiftin means,

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 9, 1918.

Application filed December 1, 1916. Serial No. 134,276.

' The platform 2 is so constructed as to support the drum engines, to be hereinafter described, for operating the cableway lines. 6 designates a tail tower consisting of a platform 7 from which arises a superstructure 8 for supporting the rope sheaves and guides at the outhaul end of the cableway. The platform 7 is supported on wheeled trucks '2' adapted to travel on trackways 7", which may run parallel to the trackway t. Stretched between the towers 1 and 6 1s a main cable 9, upon which travels a load carriage 10, the latter consisting of a frame of any desired construction and including running wheels 11 adapted to travel upon the main cable 9. This carriage 10 has journaled therein two pairs of grooved pulleys shown at 12, 12, and 13, 13, respectively (see Fig. 2), for a purpose to be hereinafter described. The carriage 10 is traversed lengthwise of the main cable by means of an outhaul line 14 wound on a drum 15 and extending from the latter over a sheave 16 journaled on the tower 1, thence extending across the space between the towers and running parallel to the main cable, the outer end of the outhaul line passing over an upper sheave 17 on the tower 6, thence down about a sheave or grooved wheel 17 upward from said wheel 17, over a sheave 17", and then reversed upon itself and connected to the carriage as at 18. The function of the wheel 1'7 will be hereinafter set forth. It will be noted that upon winding the line 14 upon the drum 15 said line 14. will be paid out t0 p rmit the carriage to be out 7 load therein.

open ended drag bucket22 provided with a suspension frame 22 having 1' ournaied therein sheaves 23, 24, located over the forward end of the bucket, and secured to the bottomof the bucket, as at 25, is a flexible connection 26, for instance, a chain, carrying at f upper end a frame or yoke 27, in which are journaled sheaves 28,29. Wound upon one part of sectional drum 30 1s a ho sting rope3l, passing from said drum upward over a sheave 32 on the tower 1, whence itpasses over the forward sheave 12 on the carriage, around the sheave 23 on the bucket, thence over the other sheave 12 and the sheave 24: in succession and secured to the carriage 10, as at It'will be understood that by paying out or taking up the rope 31 the forward end of the bucket will be either lowered or raised accordingly. Also wound upon the drum 30 is a hoisting line 3 passing upward therefrom over spaced sheaves 35,- 36, journaled on the head tower, ander:- tending from thesheave 36 over the forward pulley 13 on the carriage, thence around the sheave 28 on the rear end of the bucket, and the rear pulley 13 on the carriage, and the sheave 29 on the bucket in succession, and having its end secured to the carriage as at 37; By this rope 3a the rear end of the bucket may be raised. or lowered. Under normal operation of the apparatus the drum 30, is operated so as to pay out or take up the lines 31 and 3% simultaneously, so as to raise or lower the bucket, holding the bottorn of the latter substantially at a level, or in such inclined position asto retain the The pulleys 35, 36 on the tower are spaced apart a sufficient distance so as to cause the rope 3a to bridge the space between same and form a loop-forming portion 38, in which is suspended a pulley 39 journ aled on the end of a piston 40 of a power cylinder or ram 41 adapted to receive steam orother motive agent so as to lengthen oreXtend-the loop 38 so as to raise he rearend of the bucket independently of the forward. end, and thereby dump the load mit of'the forward end of the bucket. By exhausting the motivelagent from the cylinder 1-1. the'loop will be let out to permit the rear end of the bucket to gravitate to load carrying position, as shown in Fig. 2.

Secured to the front or open end of the drag bucket 22, as at 42, is a drag line or line43, the same passing from the b i ketover spaced Sheaves. &4, 4:5, arranged to. turn on parallel axes, mounted on the head tower 1, said line B passing from the slaves ownwa n be ng Wound pona drum 46. This drum, as, will be hereinafter described, is provided with means for driving the same at high speed, as are also the drums 15 and 30, so that the carriage and'buc'ket may be caused to pass at high speed backward and forward on a main cable,- the high speed feature being of great advantage especially in cableways of great length, for in'stance' 1000 or 2000 feet.

The drag line 43 bridges the space he tweenthe sheaves it and 45,, and high power means is provided for pulling a loop in that portion of the drag line bridging said sheaves, so that when the drum 16 is held stationary a powerful pull on said loop may be expended to drag thebucket through the material t0 be excavated. This means for exerting the pull on the loop may take a a8 connected by a frame 49 with a lower depending sheave 50. Through this sheave 50 extends a pull rope 51, one end 52 of which. is anchored to the platform 2, or any other suitable fixed point, while the opposite end is wound upon a power drum 53, which is driven by a motor of such power, and is so geared, that it preferably exceeds in pulling power the maximum power of the drum'dfi. By this arrangement the drum 53 will exert the high pulling power on the dragrope necessary to drag the bucket through the material to be excavated, even though said material be in the nature of clay or other material which is dislodged with difliculty.

and after such pull has been exerted on the bucket thelatter may be hoisted by the lines 31 and 34,-, and the drums 15 and. 30 may then be driven at high speed to traverse the bucket along the cableway in one direction or the other, and the drum 46 may be driven at high speed simultaneously to either take uporpay out the drag, line accordingly as the bucket moves toward the head tower or the tail tower. I

The construction of the engine for oper ating the inhaul and outhaul lines and, the bucket raising and lowering linesmay take anumber of different forms, but I prefer to construct it as follows;

54 designates a bed frame upon which are mounted steam-engine cylinders 55, the pistons of which are connected-by pistonvrods, indicated. by dot and dash lines. to. crank disks 5.6 on a power, shaft 57, having thereon a. gear -5'8 meshingwitha gear 59 fixed on a shaft 60 journal-ed in the bedplate. This. gear 59 is provided with a friction clutch element 61 adapted to cooperate with friction element 62 mounted on the end. of the drum 15 which revolvesupon the said; shaft 60, said, drum being operable bv a thrust 63 of any suitable construction to complete or break the driving connection between the friction clutch elements 61 and 62, whereby the drum is driven-or may be disconnected from its gear 59 and held stationary by a hand brake 64 cooperating with a braking surface 65 on said drum. The brake may be of any suitable construction and operated in any manner to serve the purpose. The gear 58 also meshes with a gear 66 mounted on a shaft 67 journaled in the bed plate, said gear 66 being provided with a friction clutch face 68 adapted to co-- operate with a friction clutch face 69 on the end of the drum 30 .which is mounted on said shaft 67. Said drum 30 is preferably provided with an intermediate circumferential flange 70 to divide the same into two independent rope-receiving surfaces. The drum 30 is movable lengthwise of the shaft 67 by a suitable thrust mechanism 71 to engage the said gear 66, whereby the drum 30 is driven. The drum 30 is provided with a braking surface 7 2 with which cotiperates a band-brake 73, whereby said drum may be held against rotation when disconnected from its gear 66. Journaled in the bed plate in advance of the drum 30 and running parallel to the longitudinal axis thereof 'is a counter-shaft 74 carrying a pinion 75 meshing with said gear 66, and also meshing with a gear 76 mounted on a. shaft 77 journaled in the bed plate and running counter to said shaft 74. This gear 76 is provided with a friction face 78, adapted to cooperate with a friction clutch face 79 on the drum 46, said drum 46 being movable lengthwise of the shaft 77 by a suitable thrust 80 to place said friction faces 78 and 7 9 in driving engagement, or to relievesuch engagement. The drum 46 is provided on its opposite ends with circumferential grooved friction faces 81,81, to receive the correspondingly formed shoes of a friction brake 82 in order that said drum may be held against rotation when disengaged from its drivlng gear 76. I prefer that the brakes of the drum 46 be made very powerful in order that the same may be effectively held stationary when the drum 53 is operated to pull the loop in the drag line 43 when the bucket is being dragged into and through the material being excavated. It will be seen that the construction and arrangement of th drums is such that any one of them may be driven independently of the others, so that when the drum 15, for operating the inhaul line 20, and the outhaul line 14, is held stationary the drum 30 may be driven to pay out or take up the falls supporting the bucket from the carriage so as to raise or lower the bucket. It will be understood that the engine cylinders are provided with suitable reversible mechanism, not shown, whereby the drum 15 may be driven in both directions so as to alternately take up and pay out said lines 14 and 20.

I will now describe a preferred form'of the high power drum for pulling the loop in the digging line 43 when the bucket is being loaded. This drum engine includes a bed plate 83, upon which are mounted. steam engine cylinders 84, the pistons of which (not shown) are connected by piston rods, indicated by dot and dash lines, to crank disks 85 mounted on a power shaft 86 journaled in the bed plate and carrying a pinion 87 meshing with a larger pinion 88. on a countershaft 89 carrying a pinion 90 smaller than the pinion 88 and meshing with a large drum-driving gear 91 mounted on a drum shaft 92 journaled in the bed plate and connected to the drum 53, here tofore described, upon which the loop-pull ing rope 51 is wound. The engine just described is preferably of a high power type, able to exert a pull upon the loop 47 in excess of the maximum pulling force of the high speed drum 46.

In proportioning the speed and pulling power of the two drum engines, I may state, by way of example, that the drum engine for operating the traversing lines and for taking up the drag line may be, and preferably is, designed to have a speed for instance twenty times the speed of the loop-pulling drum engine, while the latter may be designed to have a pulling power five times that of the former, although I desire it understood that the proportions of speed and pulling power may be varied from the proportions stated without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention.

The construction being as above described, the operation of the apparatus is as follows:

Assuming that the bucket is in elevated position and located adjacent the head tower 1, and that the drum 53 has been operated to permit the sheaves 48 and 50 to approxi mate the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, the drum 15 is positively driven to take up the outhaul line 14 and pay out the line 20, thereby causing the carriage with the bucket to proceed toward the tail tower 6. At the same time as the line 14 is being taken up, the drum 30 is operated to pay out the lines 31. and 34, and the drum 46 is operated to pay out the line 43. When the carriage has reached the point where the digging operation is to take place, the drum 15 is disconnected from its gear 59 and held by the friction brake 62, and the rotation of the drum 30 is continued to permit the bucket 22 to descend into the material to be excavated. When the bucket engages the material, the drums 30 and 46 are also disconnected from their driving gears and held by their brakes, whereupon the drum 53 is rotated to pull the loop in the digging line 43 with a powerful pulling force and thereby drag the bucket through the material and loading the bucket. It will be understood that the braking power-ofthe brakes 82 mustbesueh that the drum 46 will not be overhau'led'by the drum 53 when the latter pulls the loop in the drag line 43.

' thenthe bucketis loaded the drum may be connected to its gear 66 and driven to hoist the bucket toward thejcarriage, whereupon the drume isand 46 are operated by their respective thrustmechanisms to connectithem with thedriv inggears59 and 76,

respeetiwe'1 ,-and the engine is "operated to the rope 34, which operates to lift the rear end of the bucket, to cause the load to be ej'ected'from the forward open end of the bucket.

' While I have described the cableway as having the duinpingpoint between the carriage and the head tower, it will be understood that the load may be taken and then transferred to a dumping point between the load taking point and the tail tower. In order that one application of my invention willbe' clearly understood by those skilled in the art'I'have described above in detail one type of cableway to which my invention is applicable, but I desire it understood that the invention, to be hereinafter described, is not limited in its use or scope to that type of cableway. v

Iwill now proceed to describe the improved and simplified means constituting my invention, for traversing the tail tower along the trackwa'ys supporting the same, the same consisting of two drums 93, 94, mounted upon a shaft 95 journaled in a frame 96 mounted on a platform 97 on the tail tower 6. These drums are provided with an intermediate sprocket gear 98 connected by a sprocket chain 99 with a sprocket Wheel 100 on driving shaft 101, also .journaled' in the frame 96, and carrying" a friction clutch member 102 adapted to be engaged by a friction clutch face 103 on said pulley wheel or sheave 17 a suitable thrust mechanism 104 being provided to establish and relieve such engagement.

Wound upon said drums in opposite directions are the ends of propulsion ropes or cables 105, theopposite ends of said ropes extending in opposite directions from the tail tower; and being each r'ove over a fixed sheave '106,j 107, and then reversed upon t elf, and eonneetee tothe tower, as at 10s, 1081- -By" this: teat :1lgz-iraart,-when it is' desired to transport'theitail tower, the pulley 17? is connected to the clutch member 102, and the drum 15 may be then driven in one direction or the other to cause the outhaul rope to drive the pulley 17 and the drums 93, 94, in the desired direction to. shift the tail tower. When the tail tower is at rest, the pulley wheel 17 is disconnected from the member 102 and runs free from said member In the form shownin Fig. 1, I may em-. ploy a button rope 138, supporting fall rope carriers 139, supporting the lines 20, 31 and 34, said rope being. anchored at one end on the tower 6, and passing at its other end over the sheave 140 on the tower 1, and carrying a tension weight 141. y

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. In a cableway, a tower, means 'asso ciated with said tower for moving the same, a cable system having one end supported by the tower, a carriage movable along the system, a line for traversing the carriage, means at the opposite end of the system from said tower for operating said line, and means whereby said line may operate said moving means. r

2. In a cableway, a tower, means associated with said tower for moving the same, arable having one end supported on said tower, acarria'ge movable along the said cable, a line for traversing the carriage, said means being operable by said line.

3. In a cableway, a'main cable, a tower supporting one end of the same, means associated with said tower for moving the same, a carriage movable alongthe main cable, a line for traversing the carriage, means at the end of the cable opposite to the said tower for operating saidline, and means.

whereby said line may operate said moving" means.

4. In a cableway, a tower, means associated with said tower for moving thesame, a cable system having one end supported by the tower, a carriage movable along the system, a line for traversing the carriage, and means whereby said line drives said means for moving the tower.

5. In a cableway, a tower, means asso ciated with said tower for moving the same. a cable system having one end supported by the tower, a carriage movable alongithe system, a line for traversing the carria'ge, a rotatable member at said tower, and driven by said line, and means whereby said rotatable member drives said means for moving the tower. V v

6.- In a cableway, a tower, a drum on said tower, a line wound on said drum and operable to move the tower, a cable system having one end supported by thetower, a carriage movable along the system, aline for traversing the carriage,- and means whereby said line for traversing the carriage may drive said drum.

7. In a cableway, a tower, a drum on said tower, a line wound on said drum and operable to move the tower, a cable system having one end supported by the tower, a carriage movable along the system, a line for traversing the carriage, a rotatable member at said tower and driven by said line for traversing the carriage, and means for driving said drum by said rotary member.

8. In a cableway, two towers, means assoeiated with one of said towers for moving the same, a line extending between said towers and adapted to operate said moving means, and means at the other tower for Copies of this patent may be obtained for operating said line to operate said moving means.

9. In a cableway, two towers, means associated with one of said towers for moving the same, a suspended carriage movable between said towers, a line for moving the carriage, and means whereby said line operates said moving means,

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

THOMAS SPENCER MILLER.

\Vitnesses:

ERNEST PULSFORD, C. G. HEYLMEW.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Yatents,

Washington, D. G. 

